Judge dismisses ambulance driver from lawsuit

A Livingston County judge has dismissed an ambulance driver, who struck and killed a man lying drunk in the roadway in 2013, from a civil lawsuit.

Brighton attorney Thomas A. Matthews of Nielsen & Associates, who represents ambulance driver Anthony Disch, said “the driver should never have been sued ... because the primary causes of the accident were carelessness of the deceased and his alcohol intake.” He expressed confidence that the county also would be dismissed from the lawsuit, which was filed in April 2014.

Evan Pappas, of the Geoffrey Fieger law firm which is representing the victim’s estate, said Judge Michael P. Hatty’s decision to dismiss Disch from the lawsuit “is inconsequential because the case” against Livingston County government and the county EMS continues.

“The judge took the law into account and made his ruling; the case is going on,” Pappas said Thursday, declining to comment further.

A Michigan State Police investigation indicated that the ambulance was traveling west on Grand River Avenue around 2 a.m. Nov. 18, 2013, heading toward a local hospital when it struck 49-year-old Howell resident Patrick Thomas Billo in front of Burger King near Golf Club Road at 2184 E. Grand River Ave. in Genoa Township.

A Livingston County Sheriff’s Department investigation indicated that Billo appeared to be lying down on the roadway when he was struck and that at least one of the ambulance tires struck his head. Bruising that appeared to be tire marks were noted on the left side of Billo’s face, his right shoulder, upper right arm and right hand, which further indicated he was lying down when struck by the vehicle, according to court documents.

An autopsy indicated that Billo was “highly intoxicated.” His blood alcohol content was 0.244, which is three times the state’s legal limit for driving an automobile.

Police also noted that Billo was wearing black sweat pants and a hooded coat as well as black shoes. His pants, T-shirt and a second hooded shirt were blue.

At the time of the crash, there were heavy winds from a “series of strong storms” that had passed through the area and the area is not well lit, police noted.

Disch told authorities that he glanced at his partner, who was sleeping in the passenger seat, and a few second later, he struck something in the roadway. He believed it was a bag of trash and he did not see any other obstruction in the roadway, court documents noted.

A CVS clerk also reported “seeing nothing but blackness” because there were no lights to see color and another witness who was driving east on Grand River Avenue toward the pharmacy told authorities she detected a shape in the road, but neither she nor her son knew what it was. She continued on to the pharmacy, made a purchase and when she left that’s when she believed the object in the roadway was a body.

Court documents show that the woman reversed direction and as she neared Billo’s body, her son indicated that he thought he saw a foot and then blood. She then went into CVS and called 911. The woman also said that she initially believed the body was a “bag of trash or blown tree” and that she could not see clothing, court documents noted.

The plaintiffs noted that Disch admitted to police that he was a “little tired” and “wasn’t paying attention” when he believed he may have drifted over the lane and then heard the thump, according to court documents. They argued Disch should have and could have seen a person in the roadway.

Judge Michael P. Hatty ruled that gross negligence did not occur due to the dark clothing, bad weather and the victim’s intoxication and his decision to lay in the roadway.

“Judge Hatty demonstrated a firm grasp of the law in this arduous case, reflecting his thorough and time consuming review of evidence and testimony,” Matthews said.

Prosecutor William Vailliencourt announced in February 2014 that Disch would not face criminal charges because the evidence in “these circumstances is insufficient to justify any criminal charges.”